Star Shine
by Danny'sGhostGirl
Summary: Stars were supposed to shine, but hers had fizzled out. Good thing she had a new little star to keep her going.


**DGG: Hello, Lovely Readers. I have returned yet again with more of my world-famous angst. Oh, yes. Also this piece is a snippet from the odd workings of my** **headcanons. This one is a post-canon piece involving Rin. As an author, I find it is fun to be evil. And mean. Mevil, if you will.**

 **Anyway, here is the story. Thanks for stopping by!**

 **I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V or any of its characters. I do, however, own the idea of the sweet little boy in this story!**

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"Look, Mama!" the boy exclaimed as he pointed up toward the night sky.

"What, Ryder?" Rin asked, stopping her trek to the front door of their apartment complex.

"Look!"

"What do you see?"

"Mama, just look! It's pretty!"

"Yes, it is," she smiled.

"They're so sparkly!" Ryder continued to beam.

The mother let her gaze fall from the sky onto the four-year-old in her arms. Her heart swelled at the sight of him. He reminded her so much of Yugo with the way his crystal blue eyes dazzled with such innocence, wonder and amazement. In fact, Ryder would look exactly like his father if his blonde bangs swept to the side instead of just cascading down the right side of his face, stopping at a point by his chin, or if he'd inherited his father's blue tresses; however, he had inherited her mint green locks; it was even thick like hers and rested in little curls on the back of his neck. Everything else about him screamed Yugo – his face, his eyes, his smile, and especially his bubbly, happy personality. They were so similar, and it made her heart ache to know that her son would never know his father.

Rin sighed as her heart pumped nothing but guilt through her body. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling; she still felt at fault for Yugo's death. The last four years were filled with ups and downs for her and her son, and she couldn't help but think that it would have been easier had Yugo been there with them. She missed him so much…

"Mama, I want a star," Ryder snapped her from her thoughts.

She watched as her son held both hands high above his head and kept opening and closing his fists as if attempting to pluck one right out of the sky.

"Mama! I can't reach!" he groused.

Rin let out a light chuckle at the boy's dismay. Yes. He reminded her of Yugo. The twenty-year-old's smile dissipated as she craned her head to look up into the night sky, however. Memories flooded back to her as a few tears glossed over her amber eyes. Could he still be out there somewhere? Was there some alternate timeline where Yugo was still by her side? Where they were both happy? Where she never knew this pain or even came close to knowing it? Where their son had both his parents, and the three of them were stargazing right now?

She bit her lower lip as she slowly let her gaze fall back to her son. The child grunted as he attempted to elongate his body in an attempt to obtain his prize. She loved him so much. Just like she'd loved his father. Ryder was the last physical thing she had of Yugo. Her vision blurred as she hugged him as tightly as she could. Ryder giggled as he nestled his head against hers and wrapped his arms around her neck.

"I want a star," he whispered into her ear.

She let out a somber chuckle as she gave him a peck on the cheek.

"You know… I used to know a girl with her very own star," Rin blinked away as many tears as she could while pulling away to look her son in the face.

Ryder's crystal blue eyes widened with astonishment.

"Really?" he bounced with excitement.

"Mhm," her lips quivered, but she still managed a smile. "It shined so bright, and it made her so happy. She loved that star very much."

"Does she still have it, Mama? Does she? Does she? Can I see it?"

Rin frowned as she shook her head. His innocent question felt like a knife that was plunged straight into her heart, and Rin's face scrunched in pain as she attempted to keep her emotions in check. The boy immediately calmed down upon seeing his mother's countenance.

"What happened?" Ryder also frowned.

"Well, it…the star lost its shine," her voice quivered. "It started fizzling out one day. And the girl felt helpless. She tried her best to make it shine again, but…no matter what she did…it just…it kept fading."

"That's sad, Mama," Ryder bowed his head as he fiddled with the collar of her jacket.

Rin blinked rapidly now as the heavy feeling in her chest grew.

"It's very sad," she agreed.

"Why'd it stop shining?"

"I…She…The girl wondered the same thing. Well, she…she knew why, I guess. She just…well…she just couldn't fix it. You see the girl disappeared once. She was in trouble, and her star shot across the sky to find her."

"Did it find her?" Ryder cocked his head to the side.

"Yes, Ry-Ry. It found her," she squeezed him, causing a smile to flash across his face, "but she wasn't the same as before. Something took control of her, and…well…she hurt her star. She didn't mean to, and if things had been normal, she never would have. But after that happened she disappeared again, and her star was sucked into a black hole while trying to find her again. The star managed to survive, and the two were reunited eventually, but the star had been through a lot," Rin let out a shaky breath. "It was the star that was different after that…"

"So it stopped shining?" Ryder drooped.

Rin nodded.

"But the girl did everything she could think to do to keep her star. She polished it, and sometimes its shine and sparkle would come back, but…it never stayed that way. It would grow dim again. It broke the girl's heart. Stars are supposed to shine, but hers was dying. And then one day…the star went poof and was gone."

"Stars go poof?" the boy blinked.

"Yeah. They go poof," Rin looked away as a lone tear finally glided down her cheek.

The boy gasped when he saw it.

"It's okay, Mama," Ryder gave her a hug, which she happily reciprocated.

"What happened to the girl, Mama?" Ryder pulled away. "What did she do?"

She smiled while ruffling his hair, causing him to giggle.

"Well, you see stars die, but they eventually reform. So she waited, and she got a new little star. It's not the same, but it's just as bright and sparkly as the star she lost. And she loves that new little star with all her heart, and she tries her best to take good care of it because it means so much to her."

"Aw. Then it's a happy ending, Mama!" Ryder bounced in excitement again as he beamed.

"Yeah," she kissed him on the cheek. "I guess it is."

"I was worried, Mama!"

Rin rested her forehead against his.

"Let's go in now. It's late. It's time for bed, Ry-Ry."

"But we just got home!" he protested.

"I know," she frowned as she headed toward the door.

"Mama, if stars die, will she lose her new star, too?" Ryder cocked his head to the side.

Rin stopped in her tracks and gasped as a feeling of fear and anguish gripped her heart. The boy shrunk back at the sight of her, feeling as though he said something wrong.

"Mama?" he placed his hand on her cheek.

"She hopes not," Rin's voice shook. "That's her worst fear. She…she couldn't live with herself if the same thing happened to her little star. She does everything she can in order…in order for that to not happen," Rin cracked a smile again as she ran her thumb over her son's cheekbone.

"Mama," he whimpered.

"Don't worry, baby. She doesn't have to worry about her new star that often. It shines so very bright, and it always makes her feel better about everything. Her little star is her world."

Ryder beamed as he threw his arms around her neck again.

"Good!" he chirped.

Rin rested her head against his as she started forward again.

"Will I get to see the star someday, Mama?" he asked as she entered the building.

Rin gave the boy a kiss on the forehead.

"It's closer than you think, baby."

"I like stars…" he mumbled, sleep already taking him hostage.

"So do I, Ry-Ry. So do I."

She rubbed his back as she stole one last glance up into the night sky and caught sight of a shooting star as it launched across the heavens. A solemn smile graced her lips. Maybe that was Yugo in that alternate timeline somewhere? Regardless, wherever he was now, she hoped he was finally happy again, and that he was back to shining in that special way that only he could.

Rin rubbed her lips together as another star zipped across the sky.

"I see you," she whispered. "Goodnight, Yugo."

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 **DGG: Would you like a little more backstory to this? Because I'm going to give you some!**

 **Yugo is, sadly, no longer in the picture (Because he's my favorite Yu-Boy, and this is apparently what I do to my favorite characters...except for Yuri, who is my other favorite. He gets happy endings...but that's literally an entirely different story...) Rin still has a hard time with Yugo's untimely demise even after four years. She blames herself for what happened; she shouldn't, but she does. She feels guilty that she couldn't save him from himself, and constantly wonders why this had to happen to someone like Yugo, who was always so happy and carefree before the war. She mainly feels guilty because her son can never meet his father, and, of course, blames herself for that as well. She tends to isolate herself from her counterparts as she is the only one of them without her Yu-Boy. As a piece of Ray, Rin feels that she failed in her responsibility of watching over Yugo and stays away from the others out of guilt, resentment, and jealousy. But she obviously has her son. He's what keeps her going, along with some help from Crow and the kids.**

 **So, yeah. I have all these headcanons for everybody. This one is the saddest. Everyone else leads fairly happy, normal lives.**

 **I have ideas/wishes to write stories for all of these, but my frazzled brain barely focuses anymore. Ugh. Don't get old, kids.**

 **But yeah. If you want to talk/discuss my headcanons or some of yours, you can always PM me on here or talk to me on my tumblr (the link for that is in my profile).**

 **Anyway, I greatly appreciate you stopping by to read my random one-shot. Leave a review if you feel so inclined! Thanks again for reading!**


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